Ein deutsches Requiem, Brahms's longest choral work, was composed during three different periods of his life but completed between 1865 and 1868, perhaps as a result of the death of the composer's mother. It is a sacred work, but non-liturgical. It features text chosen by Brahms from the German Lutheran Bible, with passages from both the Old and New Testament. However, it does not include material about the Last Judgment, and was written primarily (according to Brahms), to comfort the living. On this recording, soloists Christiane Karg and Matthias Goerne are joined by the Swedish Radio Choir and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, all under the direction of maestro Daniel Harding.